After 6-3 win at South Umpqua, Banks will face Mazama -- not Yamhill-Carlton -- in quarterfinals

A three-run home half of the second had Banks in a hole, but there was no panic in the two-time defending state champions.

"We just knew we needed to work harder and match the intensity they were bringing," pitcher Hannah VanDomelen said. "I think we were all thinking, 'This is why we're here,' and, 'This is what we've been training the entire season to do,' so we just stayed relaxed and did our thing."

VanDomelen held South Umpqua scoreless the rest of the way and Molly Hammond, MaKenna Partain and Tiffany Snyder each delivered an RBI hit as Banks rallied for a 6-3 victory in a Class 4A first-round playoff game Wednesday in Myrtle Creek.

Mary Schorn opened the contest with a single to right-center field and ended up scoring when she hustled home from third on a ball that squirted about three feet from Lancers catcher Haleigh Gallego. Banks, though, missed a chance for a bigger inning by leaving the bases loaded, and Gallego's solo homer helped give South Umpqua a 3-1 lead in the second.

"You just have to keep pushing," Banks coach Jenny Compton said of the early deficit. "There were probably a couple jitters there, but I don't mind having a nice competitive game because obviously you have to bring it every single pitch, and I felt like our energy started getting more and more as the game went on -- looking for that next pitch, wanting to make that next great play.

"These kinds of games do more for any team. You learn a lot more because then you can find little details that you can work on tweaking. Sometimes those little details are overlooked if you win by a lot."

Banks took the lead with the help of two Lancers errors in the fourth, and the late innings were highlighted by several strong defensive plays by the visitors. Partain, Schorn and Hammond teamed up for an impressive 6-4-3 double play, which ended with a nice scoop from Hammond, who reached base in all four of her plate appearances.

The evening's stunner came 200 miles away in Yamhill, where top-seeded and top-ranked Yamhill-Carlton fell 3-0 to the 16th seed, Mazama. That means the anticipated rematch between Banks and the Tigers won't be happening after all; Banks will host the Vikings on Friday with a trip to the semifinals on the line.

The girls cheered Wednesday when they heard Yamhill-Carlton had lost and realized Friday's game would be in Banks, but VanDomelen said it doesn't really make much of a difference either way.

"In the end, it doesn't matter who we play," she said. "No matter what, we just have to play hard."